Rantau The Rakyat Speak Again

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EXPECTED victory for Mohamad Hasan of Barisan Nasional in Rantau state seat by-election. It is also a boost for Umno and Pas cooperation mooted by its president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Also worth mentioning is the result reflects the people's rejection of the Pakatan government for putting them deeper into hardship since winning the GE14.

PH candidate Dr S Streram is also 'beaten' by the fact that an Independent contested under Amanah. Even though Mohd Nor Yassin was sacked by PAN days later, it proves how Pakatan has failed in determining how such a 'sabotage' should be avoided.

The electorates may have realised that the GE14 results were not supposed to unseat BN. After 61 years in power which saw the country and its rakyat prospered amid allegations of power abuse and corruption, each and every quarter saw growth equally distributed.

Unlike PH, their many U-turns and flip-flops are being treated as disability to manage by the electorates, who chose them on May 9, 2018. Their lies and 'political atrocity' towards some Umno and BN leaders are being used to cover up the weakness.

Tok Mat's victory in Rantau is a hat-trick for BN after Cameron Highlands parliamentary by-election and Semenyih state by-election. BN components have close ranks and stood formidable for the seats, with Pas playing 'a savior' role in it.

Had BN won Negri Sembilan, Tok Mat will be the right person to steer the state again. It's not a Negri affair that led to his victory, its a concerted effort by all in BN, Umno headquarters, component parties and Pas.

Not to forget the undivided support given by NGOs and volunteers in Rantau, which saw some housed themselves in surau and mosques.

Today's turnout was encouraging. With 79.31 per cent, it was among the highest so far. Tok Mat garners 10,397 votes compared to 5,887 for Streram, a convincing majority of 4,510 votes.

The by-election was necessisated by the Federal Court dismissal of an appeal filed by the Umno deputy president to set aside the November 16 Seremban Election Court decision declaring his unopposed victory in GE14 as null and void.

In GE14, Tok Mat was declared winner of the seat after Streram was prohibited from entering the nomination center to submit his nomination papers because he did not hve a pass issued by the Election Commission.

Mohd Nor Yassin and another Independent R Malarvizhi only obtained 79 and 83 votes respectively, thus losing their deposits.

Next would be Sandakan in Sabah and probably Jasin in Melaka. By the current going, BN is making a comeback, something PH needs to pay attention.

Rantau is Tok Mat's 'traditional' fort. His personal touch makes him a darling there. However, he must acknowledge a big role by Zahid, Najib, Annuar Musa, Mat Maslan, Hadi Awang and others in securing him the victory.

For PH, its a amber traffic light. The rakyat have spoken...

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